Lock-shield.



J. L. BIRDSONG.

LOCK SHIELD.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-2, I913.

9 1 36 582 Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

7 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. Bnzosomaand throughout the several views of which citizen of the United States, residing at} ran srarns ATEN JOHN L. IBIRDSONG, 0F KENIBRIDGE, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOROF ONE-HALF T0 ENOGI-I STUDEBAKER, 0F WAVERLY,

VIRGINIA.

LOCK-SHIELD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

Kenbridge, in the county of Lunenburg and State of and useful Improvements in Lock-Shields, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in weather shields for looks, and as its principal object c0ntemplates the provision of a device of this character which consists essentially in a wall plate and a shield hingedly attached thereto.

It is a well recognized fact that padlocks, draw-bolt locks, and all devices of a similar nature, which are applied to barn-doors and like structures, upon being exposed to rain, snow, and inclement weather generally, are, in many instances, rendered inoperative before the expiration of their normal period of usefulness due to such exposure.

As a further object, therefore, this invention aims to provide a shield for looks which may be readily applied to the door or wall and disposed to effectually protect the look from all inclement weather conditions, thereby prolonging its life.

A further object, and one of equal importance with the foregoing, is to construct the device of this invention with such regard to number, proportion and arrangement of parts, that it may be cheaply manufactured, will be durable and efiicient in its operation, and maybe readily applied in protective relation to the lock with a minimum expenditure of time and labor.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the hinged shield member may be quickly elevated to and retained in an outof-the-way position, permitting the operator to apply the key to the look when in the act.v of entering the door or like structure carrying the lock.

The above and additional objects areaccomplished by such means as are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification and then more particularly pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and form a part of this application.

With reference to the drawings, wherein I have illustrated the preferredembodiment e1 ig spondlng parts, Virglma, have invented certain new,

;; of my invention as it is reduced to practice,

similar reference numerals designate corre- Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the shield of this invention in assembled relation and in protecting position over a lock which is indicated in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken approximately centrally of the shield illustrating the hinged member of the device in dependent position; and Fig. 8 is a similar view illustrating the shield in elevated position and disclosing particularly the means by which the hinged element of the shield is held in elevated position.

Preliminary to the description of the drawings, it is desirable to emphasize the fact that,while the device of this invention is particularly designed for the protection of padlocks, such as are usually employed in looking barn-doors and the like, it may, nevertheless, be applied with equal efliciency to Yale locks, draw-bolt looks or other locks of a similar character.

Coming now to the description of the drawings, the numerals 10'and l1 designate, respectively, and as entireties, the wall plate and the hinged shield casing of this invention which are illustrated in connection with a hasp and a lock of conventional design, designated 12 and 12, respectively. The wall plate 10 consists essentially in a frustotriangular metallic plate formed of sheet zinc or any other suitable or desired material of a similar nature, and is apertured at any desired number of places to receive screws 13 by which it is attached to the door casing or adjacent structure, as the location of the lock may demand. The edges 14, 15 and 16 of the plate are turned to produce flanges 17', 18 and 19, which are sharpened on their longitudinal edges and are driven into the wall board or door, indicated conventionally at 20, when the wall plate is attached in the manner previously set forth.

The base edge of the plate 10 is offset, producing a flange 21 which, as will be observed upon reference particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, is, in the assembled position of the wall plate, disposed in parallel spaced relation to the adjacent face of the wall 20. The transverse edge of the ofiset flange 21 is bent upon itself to produce a rolled car 22 which is formed with a central opening for the reception of the hinge plate 23 carried by the member 11 and receives the hinge rod 24 thereof.

The hinged shield or hood element 11 consists essentially in a metallic casing which includes a body portion 25, and a pair of side plates or walls 26 and 27 formed integrally therewith. It will be noted upon reference to the drawings, that the side plates 26 and 27 are formed in the nature of a right angle triangle, and that the hypotheses of the terminals are adapted to bear against the adjacent face of the wall 20 when the shield is in depended position with respect to the wall plate 10. It is, therefore, apparent that the body plate 25 will be downwardly inclined, when in normal position, and will act to shed rain, hail, and snow and consequently protect the look from all inclement weather.

The hinged plate 23 is bent upon itself to receiverthe hinge rod 24, as will be obvious upon reference to Fig. 1 particularly, and is secured to the normal upper terminal of the member 25 by the application of bolts, rivets, screws or other suitable fastening devices 28 which are passed through both portions of the member 23.

It is now to be observed that the upper edge of the plate 23 is disposed slightly below the normal upper edge of the body plate 25, and that the upper edge of this member 25 is curved longitudinally to produce a transversely extending offset rib or flange 29. It is to be further noted that the edge of the portion 29 is sharpened, and lies, when the shield is in normal position, in the space comprehended between the member 21 and the wall 20. Inasmuch as the plate 23 is transversely slidable on the hinge rod 24, it will be apparent that in the normal position of the shield the hinge rod will bear against the upper portion of the member 23, and that, when the shield is elevated, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the hinge rod will bear against the normally lower portion thereof which has been inverted to assume the relation of the upper portion of the plate. In this position, the sharpened edge of the offset rib or flange 29 will bite into the wall 20 and, consequently, hold the shield in raised position until the operator again desires to swing it downwardly in normal position. In this connection it will, of course, be apparent that it is only necessary to elevate the shield to bring the hinge rod 24 to the normal upper portion of the plate 23, consequently spacing the edge of the flange 29 from the wall 20 and permitting it to be swung upwardly into the space between the member 21 and the wall 20. This last mentioned feature of the hinged element is one of great importance in that it permits the user of this device to fix the shield in elevated position without any appreciable amount of labor, and eliminating the necessity of applying a spring catch or similar device, when it is desired to remove the padlock in the usual manner.

It is desirable to further direct attention to the fact that the device of this invention is constructed with due degard to simplicity and efficiency, so that it may be cheaply manufactured, and will be of practical service when employed in the manner heretofore described.

In reduction to practice, I have found that the form of my invention, illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description as the preferred embodiment, is the most eflicient and'practical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of my device will necessarily vary, I desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any tion, as defined in the appended'claims.

What I claim is 1. The combination with a lock and its supporting body, of a protector including a wall plate detachably secured to the supporting body, an offset transversely extending flange formed on the lower terminal of the wall plate and disposed in spaced relation to the lock supporting body, a hood member normally adapted to house the look, a hinge plate carried by the hood member, a hinge rod connecting'said plate to said offset fiange, and a transversely curved rib formed at the hinged terminal of the hood and normally disposed in the space comprehended between the said offset flange and the lock supporting body, said rib being adapted to engage the lock supporting body for holding the hood in elevated position.

2. The combination with a lock and its supporting body, of a protector including a wall plate, a transversely extending flange formed integrally therewith, and offset from 'the plane thereof, being disposed when in assembled position in spaced relation to the supporting body, a hood loosely hinged to the offset flange, a transversely extending rib formed integrally with the hoodand at the hinged terminal thereof, the said rib being normally disposed in the space comprehended between the offset flange and the lock supporting body and adapted to engage the adjacent surface of the lock supporting body for holding the hood in elevated position.

3. The combination with a lock and its supporting body, of a protector including a wall-plate, a transversely extending outwardly offset flange formed thereon, said flange extending in parallel spaced relation of the advantages of my inven-' imese g to the supporting body of the lock, and a In testimony whereof I afiix my signature 7 00d loosely hinged to the flange and norin presence of two witnesses. mally arranged to form a housing for the lock, the upper edge of the hood being dis- JOHN BIRDS 5 posed between the flange and the look-sup- Witnesses:

porting body ,When the hood is in dependent W. Soo'rT IRBY, position. COLIN S. BAYLEY;

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the C'ommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

